This semester, I will have only volunteered five out of ten weeks at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. I think this is pretty normal for THV sites, but something I did not realize is how long the process to get accepted as a volunteer at the hospital would be. I had to get 2 TB tests, get a background check, a drug test, attend a long orientation, and put down a $50 deposit. I was unaware of all this before I chose this hospital.

The reason I chose to volunteer here is because they had a Labor and Delivery/OB unit and when I saw this, I immediately thought this is where I wanted to be. Unfortunately, I quickly was informed at my first meeting at the hospital that if I chose to work in that department, I would not being doing much at all and I really wanted a more hands-on experience. I gave my availabilities to the volunteer coordinator and I was told I only had two options of departments and neither of them excited me, but it was all I had, so I chose Telemetry.

I was a little disappointed with my experience overall. I was only ever working with nurses. The shifts are 4 hours and I think during every shift I felt like I had about 2 maybe 3 hours of actual work. Sometimes I felt like I was just annoying the patients when I kept checking in on them. I felt in the way when I was at the nurse’s desk answering phones because a lot of times I just had to put them on. However, I do love being there when theres a patient I click with or my favorite nurse is there. There are two nurses who have taken me under their wing and have been so helpful. I love having them help me do a task or tell me about their patients or about their lives in general. Those times have been really rewarding and make volunteering at HPMC worth it. – 2.5/5

Anonymous
1st Semester Student
Fall 2015

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Volunteering at Hollywood Presbyterian was definitely a learning experience. It took a while for me to get started because I had a difficult time contacting the volunteer coordinator which made the process a little frustrating. However, once I was able to communicate with her and get the logistics figured out, the process went much more smoothly. Going into the program, I had no idea which department I would be placed in or what I would be doing. By the time I was cleared to start, it happened to be around spring break so I decided to catch up on some hours during that break. I was assigned to help out in the Neuroclinic which was run by the Los Angeles Brain and Spine Institute. Although this institute isn’t directly connected to Hollywood Presbyterian, volunteers are still allowed to work there through the department depending on the hours they are available.

Most of the work revolved around general office tasks and helping out the nurses with whatever they needed. Because the Brain and Spine Institute just moved to the Hollywood Presbyterian facility, most of the work I did involved transferring and updating records of old patients and creating files for new patients. The nurses were extremely nice and were always so thankful to have volunteers around because they were always swamped with work. They were more than willing to answer any questions I had about the Brain and Spine Institute or the administrative side of health care. Most of the patients at the Neuroclinic were stroke victims or individuals who had aneurysms that needed attention. Although I didn’t get much patient interaction, I was able to see how the nurses interacted with the patients according to the patient’s condition. Additionally, I was able to witness the business side of the health care system since I had to file a lot of insurance paperwork for the patients’ files. Although I wasn’t able to shadow any of the physicians or see any procedures, I was able to learn a lot about the administrative side of health care and learn some tips for patient interaction. – 3/5

Anonymous
1st Semester Student
Spring 2012
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Overall, I enjoyed working at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. This site is easy to get to if you have a car, and you do not volunteer during traffic hours. However, the volunteering was extremely basic and I felt like I did not learn much or have a truly moving experience. I worked with the nursing unit, not doctors, so I only had a chance to observe nursing responsibilities. There were not many patients to tend to on my floor, and my responsibilities were limited when dealing with them. I could only watch the nurses although I really wanted to experience something more hands on. Also, there is a high amount of hours you must complete at the hospital for them to recognize you as a completed volunteer. If you do not have time to volunteer two times a week, it will take a long time to complete the hours. But the head nurse, the nurse I followed the most, loved to teach and really went out of his way. The staff was extremely nice and was willing to teach me small things. I recommend this site for people who want a very beginner volunteer experience and accept that they will not have a variety of tasks to do while on site. – 3/5